The divided views of the community of Saltash over plans for a new supermarket on the edge of town were reflected by voting among Caradon councillors last week. The district council's planning committee voted narrowly to reject their officers' recommendation that the proposed Lidl store on a site in Gilston Road be refused. By just one vote members voiced their approval for the development – but the full council will have the final say when it meets later this month. Planning officers had recommended to the committee that they reject the company's proposals on the grounds that the new store would take up land which had been earmarked for employment rather than retail use. Assistant head of planning Mr M Andrews told the committee the application was a particularly important one, not only for Saltash but for the area as a whole, but the application was quite clearly contrary to the council's policies which required that employment land was protected. The site was designated employment land in the Local Plan. Ward member Steve Tait told colleagues it was a difficult call – he said he had had many messages from local people expressing views both for and against the development, and that the company should be congratulated on its 'aggressive' marketing campaign. 'Most people would agree we desperately need more retail food opportunities,' he said. 'Lidl going on this site will have an advantageous effect on a steadily declining Fore Street.' But there were traffic problems on Gilston Road to which the store's presence would add, and allowing the development to go ahead on that particular site would not be the best use of valuable employment land. 'At the moment there is a lot of good employment there which will be lost to Saltash,' he added, proposing that the committee accept their officers' recomemndation that the application be refused. Martin Gee, however, said the application should be approved. People living in the Pilmere area had no services or facilities and the proposed new store would be highly accessible to them. There were, according to an analysis of local shopping habits, some 2,000 people who crossed the Tamer to use Lidl's Plymouth store, all travelling by car, contrary to the council's own environmental policies. If the Saltsash store was not given the go ahead they and their money would continue to leave Cornwall. 'This will be a safety valve which will prevent a lot of traffic going over the Tamar bridge,' he said. Brian Carter said he thought local people would continue to cross over to the Plymouth side even if permission was granted, as they used other shops and facilities there. The site in Gilston Road was not the right one and the council should investigate alternatives in the town centre. Roy Levack said he thought the store would be a good thing for a lot of people but he too was not convinced it was the best site, in view of the loss of industrial land that it would involve. The committee eventually voted by 9 votes to 8 in favour of granting approval for Lidl's planning application. Their recommendation will now go before the full council when it meets on Monday, December 19.
